


Wherever Is Your Heart

by anniegetyourplasmapistol



Category: Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Family Fluff, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:08:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22807603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anniegetyourplasmapistol/pseuds/anniegetyourplasmapistol
Summary: Just a little ficlet about the fulfillment of found family. (Holy alliteration, Batman.)
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Kudos: 13





	Wherever Is Your Heart

Truth is, the game was rigged from the start.

Do you believe in destiny? I mean, when you’re born, is your entire life already planned out for you? The choices you make - you think it’s free will. But is it? Is that decision to have Sugar Bomb Cereal for dinner _again_ really yours, or was it predetermined from the moment you first came together as a clump of cells in the womb? Maybe it’s deeper than that, and the whole course of human existence was set in stone at the Big Bang.

You were always going to be a courier. Ulysses was always going to back out of that job so that you would carry the platinum chip. Benny was always going to shoot you in the head and leave you for dead in a shallow grave in Goodsprings. You were always going to survive, and you were always going to love that stupid bastard for some unholy reason you’ll never understand. Probably borders more on unhealthy obsession, if you’re being honest with yourself. (You know from the way that Boone looks at you that he understands these thoughts rattling around in your skull.)

So, maybe Benny is right. The game was always rigged from the start, every choice you made leading to this moment wasn’t a choice so much as an inevitability. You often wonder if there are other universes where you don’t follow the same path. Veronica is the only one who indulges this talk - sometimes Arcade will allow himself to be drawn in, but Veronica’s almost unbearable enthusiasm usually sends him away with an annoyed scowl. Cass enjoys this only because she loves to see Arcade get pissed off.

This little family you’ve created must surely have been destiny too, then. There was something that brought you all together: Cass, Boone, Veronica, Arcade, and sweet lovable Rex. Talk about a rag-tag bunch. And yet you all seem to fit together, the missing pieces in one found in another, and all of them having a part of you that you didn’t know you needed until you found it. How did you ever sleep at night without Rex panting in your face, or Veronica snoring so loudly that you’re worried Raiders or Legion will find you from the sound? Or the comfort of knowing Boone was on first watch, the small orange glowing dot of his cigarette just barely visible at the entrance of whatever shelter you found to hunker down in? Or the sound of Cass’ deep, slow slumber breathing, or Arcade shuffling around at first light to make coffee? These were all superficial things, but they represented something so much deeper. 

You’re ashamed to admit it, but there is a small part of you that wishes this could go on forever. You’ll never recover the chip or figure out what Mr. House wants it for. You’ll just ramble around the wastes with the most wonderful people you’ve ever met until you’re all too old to do much but find a small retreat and live out the rest of your days together. Your heart twinges at the thought of never seeing Benny’s dumb face again, but the life you daydream about is more than worth it. Sometimes you think Cass picks up on this a bit. You’ll catch her watching you, sometimes, as you ponder your next moves, and you think she knows that you’re considering taking the long way to wherever you’re heading next. If only to spend just a couple more hours or days together. But for all her toughness, she never says anything. She lets you make that choice. And then you think that maybe she feels the same way, too. Cass lost everything. She’d never admit it, but this misfit bunch is her family, too, and she doesn’t want it to end either.

And so you try to soak up every moment you can, staying awake at night just to know that your companions are there in the world next to you. Sometimes you wrap a blanket around your shoulders and bring a bottle of whiskey out to Boone’s post, where you both sit quietly smoking cigarettes and sharing the bottle, your arms touching. You’ll eat Veronica’s terrible cooking and ask for seconds. Arcade will drone on about something while you’re cleaning your guns, and you nod and “mmhmm” in all the right places even though you’re not retaining an ounce of what he’s saying but instead just enjoying the sound of his voice. You and Cass have a friendly prank war going and you’re both ashamed and proud to admit that she’s a damn sight better at it than you. Rex will slobber on your leg while he rests his head on your knee for ear scratches, but you don’t mind. 

When you finally fix an old camera, they’ll all move in for a group photo, grumbling the whole time (except for Veronica, of course), but when you take the picture, everyone’s smiling - really smiling. Well, Boone isn’t, but at least he’s not frowning. You find a frame in an empty house and clean it the best you can, then put the photo inside. You look at it every night before you collapse into your bed, dusty and dirty but happy. Really, truly happy.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! This is just a little piece that came from a sort of free-write that I was doing one day while bored. I hope you enjoy!


End file.
